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Is hanging a tarantula on your ceiling okay?

pikturetrix

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Hi I just bought a new Mexican Fire-Leg tarantula today and need a place to put it's cage that's away from light. I was wondering if it's okay to hang hooks from my ceiling and put my cage on the hooks?
 

Enn49

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That seems a bit drastic. Just find a corner that isn't in bright sun for too long and it'll be fine. I have quite a few Ts that are sun worshippers and will sit in the sun for a hour or so when it shines on their containers.
 

Oursapoil

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Would it be dangerous on the ceiling? The point of moving it was to keep it away from my selenite lamp.
You seem to have your mind pretty made up already but just in case...I do not believe it is a good idea. You have a terrestrial T and I can't imagine there is nowhere in your house where it can't be without being directly under a armful light. If you can take the light, so can the T. Just make sure to provide a piece of bark for her to be able to hide if she feels like it. These Ts are usually active at night and hide during the day so if she is not comfortable with your light she'll hide away. Needless to say that hooking the enclosure to the ceiling might make it more difficult to access and for you to keep an eye on her. Last but not least, hanging it would drastically increase the chance of the enclosure falling (which would very likely be the end of the T).
I do not believe the risk is worth taking, my two cents.
Have a great day.
 

m0lsx

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The point of moving it was to keep it away from my selenite lamp.


Looking at Google there does not seem to be anything about a Selenite lamp which would harm a T. It is a standard electrical light within a piece of clear crystal.
 

menavodi

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Away from the light? Other people add lights to their enclosures. But anyway, not a good idea
 

octanejunkie

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I wanted to see you, hanging from your hanging tarantula cage, trying to do maintenance

That, would have been a good pic
 

pikturetrix

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Do you guys know if I should use a heating mat or not with this type of spider? I just turned mine off after reaching my 70f and realizing it was bringing the moisture down lower than 50.
 

Oursapoil

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Do you guys know if I should use a heating mat or not with this type of spider? I just turned mine off after reaching my 70f and realizing it was bringing the moisture down lower than 50.
I would avoid heating mat, it is my personal preference. If you have an ambient temperature in your house of 70 degrees your T should be just fine (a Brachypelma). Although it can get hot during the day for these Ts in their natural habitat, it also get much colder at night (when they are usually more active). So they can tolerate a difference of temperature during the day and night although 50 seems to be getting a bit cold and I am concerned on how the temperature gets to this low in a house where people are living. Break a leg.
 

octanejunkie

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Oursapoil

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Saying this with a lot of kindness as we were all there one day with our first T but it might be worth doing a little bit more research on your T on your own, in books, on the internet or on this forum (using the search tool). This will help you with the basics and will drastically increase your T happiness and health as well as avoiding most common mistakes. I am just saying this following your two first questions.
put a nice picture of your T and it’s enclosure when you’ll get a chance and have a nice day.
 

pikturetrix

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Here is my Brachypelma boehmei climbing on my cage wall after his first cage cleaning on my new shelf I arranged for him/her. I named it Danielle or Daniel depending on gender.
 

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octanejunkie

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I would add a but more substrate to keep the free climbing height at 1.5-2x DLS (diagonal leg span) a fall from the ceiling could injure or kill your Dani
 

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